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Vandalism at Fitchburg park 'heartbreaking'

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
01/16/2013 06:31:00 AM EST

FITCHBURG -- When Stephen Twining saw the graffiti that appeared on the base of the Civil War monument in Monument Park on Main Street over the course of Monday night, a disheartened look came over his face.

The New England graves registration officer for the Sons of Union Civil War Veterans is also a member of the Fitchburg Veterans Council, the group that cares for Monument Park through the city's Adopt-a-Park program.

"It's just a shame," Twining said, shaking his head in disgust. "I can't imagine anybody that would do that to a monument to serve veterans."

He called the vandalism "heartbreaking" and "disrespectful" to the 174 local soldiers who gave their lives in the Civil War to have "garbage" spray-painted onto the monument honoring them.

Department of Public Works Commissioner Lenny Laakso said the graffiti was discovered by Parks Department employees Tuesday morning and promptly reported to the police.

Employees immediately began using a baking-soda blaster to remove the paint, followed by graffiti-removing chemicals, he said. Over the course of Tuesday, the process was repeated multiple times in an attempt to completely remove the traces of paint, Laakso said, but it appears to have seeped deep into the granite, likely requiring several more days of work to remove.

He said the vandals also destroyed a donated Christmas tree in the park.

Twining said he has seen some graffiti in the park before, mostly on the benches, but never on the monument until Tuesday.

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Laakso agreed he'd never seen graffiti of this magnitude in Monument Park before.

"We do have vandalism from time to time on the fence around the park, but in my time here, anyway, I haven't had anything like this," Laakso said.

The finding leaves Twining searching for a way to prevent it from happening again.

"I don't know if they could close the park at night," he said. "It is posted, but I don't think the police have the time to come in and keep an eye on it. And cleaning up, I find needles behind the benches and all sorts of things. It's amazing what people leave here."

Even if the vandals are caught, Twining said, the punishment usually doesn't fit the crime. He has seen people get fined $25 or $50 for cemetery vandalism, which isn't enough to keep them from doing it again.

"I don't know how you stop it," Twining said.

The Civil War monument, featuring three brass figures, was designed by Boston sculptor Martin Milmore and brought to the city in 1874 with the assistance of Fitchburg industrialist and U.S. Rep. Alvah Crocker.

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